The Best Universities in the UK for Student Experience

Times Higher Education have revealed the best universities in the UK for student experience, with Loughborough University finishing top for the eighth time since 2006. 

The survey is based on the responses of more than 20,000 undergraduate students rating their university across 21 measures including academic experience, facilities and accommodation. Learn more about the best universities in the UK for student experience below.

Top Five UK Universities for Student Experience

1. Loughborough University

Overall,Loughborough University was ranked first in four different categories: Good community atmosphere; Good extra-curricular activities/societies; Good environment on campus/around university; and High quality facilities.

Loughborough University campus is the UK’s largest single site green campus and is generally regarded as the best in the country for sport, having been named the Sports University of the Year multiple times by the Times Good University Guide.

2. Harper Adams University

Harper Adams University is a specialist provider of higher education for the agricultural and rural sector, and in recent years has excelled across a number of student satisfaction rankings.

Set on a 635 hectare farm, Harper Adams courses include biology, business and food science and it was named Modern University of the Year in the 2017 Times & Sunday Times Good University Guide.

3. University of Leeds

The University of Leeds was voted the number one university in the Russell Group (a collective of 24 research intensive universities featuring Cambridge, Oxford and Imperial College London) for student experience and third overall.

Leeds's students were particularly impressed by the campus environment, facilities and extra-curricular activities at the University. Leeds is also a Gold standard Teaching Excellence Framework university.

4. University of Bath

The University of Bath scored highly across a range of measures in the survey including: providing high quality facilities (2nd); enabling good extra-curricular activities and societies (2nd); for safety and security (2nd) and industry connections (3rd).

Other recent accolades for Bath include Gold in the Teaching Excellence Framework and a 2018 'University of the Year' award for Sport from The Times and Sunday Times.

5. University of Sheffield

The University of Sheffield was ranked fifth overall in the THE Student Experience survey, with the University Student Union winning 'Best Student Union' for a tenth year in a row. More than 300 student clubs and societies are available at Sheffield, allowing international students to try new activities, make friends and feel at ease in their new city.

Sheffield's #WeAreInternational campaign advocates the importance of providing the best support for students from across the world and is another reason why so many students choose to study there.

Study at a UK University

If you are interested in applying to study at one of the above UK universities, or just want to learn more about all aspects of studying in the UK, arrange a free consultation with SI-UK today.